WORRIED: Amelia Kaiser is appealing for help to find her mum, Lorrin Whitehead. Amelia is pictured with her grandfather, Wayne Whitehead. Photo: PETER RISTEVSKI.

Second photo - CCTV of Lorrin in the supermarket directly before she disappeared.

Circumstances: Lorrin Whitehead was last seen on Friday 8 February 2013 at 4.55pm at a local supermarket in Bannockburn, Victoria. Her family raised concerns for her wellbeing following her failure to attend work the following Monday. Lorrin has not accessed her bank account since and has no known contact with family and friends. Personal items normally carried by Lorrin were located inside her Bannockburn home. There are grave concerns for her welfare as she is a Type 1 Insulin Dependent Diabetic. She has family in both Victoria and Queensland. If you have information that may assist police to locate Lorrin please call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Please find my mum

A FAMILY is in shock over the mysterious disappearance of a Bannockburn mother of five.

Lorrin Whitehead disappeared without a trace from her Bannockburn home last Friday, without her car, purse or phone.

Worryingly, the 43-year-old Ms Whitehead a Type 1 diabetic was also without her life-saving medication.

Mustering all the stoicism she could, Ms Whitehead's 20-year-old daughter Amelia Kaiser yesterday spoke of her mother as a doting parent who lived for her family.

"She is the centre of everything," she said.

"I'm just hoping she'll walk back in and say: 'Why is everyone making such a fuss of me? I'm only going on a holiday.'

"If I start thinking negatively, I'm no good to anyone."

The alarm was raised, when the normally punctual Ms Whitehead failed to turn up to her administrative job in North Geelong on Friday.

Amelia drove to her mother's house to find the doors left wide open and no one home.

"She's had a lot of stress over the last couple of years due to family matters, but to not have a car or wallet or ID or money is just completely out of character," Amelia said.

"I can't even comprehend why or ... "

Ms Whitehead's parents Wayne and Joan Whitehead flew in from the Gold Coast yesterday, while other family members are making a mercy dash to Bannockburn from all parts of the globe to lend any support they can to Ms

Whitehead's five children, aged between nine and 20.

"Not being able to get an answer, this is the hardest thing," Mr Whitehead said.

Police Search and Rescue and members of the dog squad were called in yesterday to search grassland, bushland and waterways around Bannockburn.

Ms Whitehead had been through a broken marriage and has suffered from stress as a result.

Amelia, who has a very close relationship with her mother, has been without sleep for days as she tries to make sense of the situation.

"I'm thinking about every conversation I've had over the past four weeks with her" she said.

The younger children too, are struggling to cope with their mother's disappearance.

"The second youngest sister looks at me and says: 'Mum will come home won't she?', and all I can say is: 'How much does Mum love you and how much does she tell you she loves you every day'," Amelia said.

"She doesn't have to come home, all she has to do is call and tell us she is OK."

Anyone with any information is urged to contact 000 immediately.

Missing mum might be in district

Police, family hope Lorrin turns up

POLICE are still to discover any leads over the disappearance of Bannockburn mother of five Lorrin Whitehead.

As the local community rallied in support, police continued the search for Ms Whitehead who disappeared under mysterious circumstances a week ago today.

Search and rescue efforts failed to uncover any sign of Ms Whitehead, while bank accounts and medical centres were also closely monitored but late yesterday there had been no more information come to light.

"We'll have a briefing a bit later and make a decision as to whether we will activate the SES to search some specific areas," said Acting Sergeant Craig Grant of Bannockburn police.

Ms Whitehead, 43, disappeared from her Bannockburn home last Friday, leaving without her car, purse, mobile phone or medication for her Type-1 diabetes.

Worried family members continued to fly in yesterday to wait and hope.

"We are still trying to come to terms with what to do next," Ms Whitehead's father, Wayne Whitehead, said.

Mr Whitehead said the family had been heartened by the offers of support from the entire Bannockburn community, from police to volunteer organisations and church groups.

Even the local primary school and bowls club have pitched in to assist the family.

"For the whole community, we have really appreciated everything they have offered - thank you is not enough but we are still not there yet."

Golden Plain Shire mayor Jenny Blake said it was a hallmark of the tight-knit Bannockburn community to rally in support of one of their own.

"We have wonderful groups like the Lions Club and others that pull together very quietly behind the scenes," she said.

Bannockburn and District Bowls Club president Les McInerney was only too happy to help get the word out.

"It is a very tight-knit community and we had no hesitation in helping out," he said.

"We'll try our darndest and if any of our members know anything, they've been advised to call 000 and hopefully we can find her."

Acting Sgt Grant said there had been a big response from the public.

We Miss You Mum

On Friday February 8, 2013, Lorrin Whitehead, 43, walked from her house in Bannockburn to the shopping precinct.
She withdrew between $100 and $200 from the ATM, bought a bottle of water from Safeway at five minutes to five and then vanished.
No one has seen her since.
On Monday February 11 an alarm was raised when Ms Whitehead, a reliable and hard-working employee, did not turn up for work.
Bannockburn Police Senior Constable Craig Grant said a search was carried out by foot, dog trackers and the air-wing.
A check with transport companies - taxi, train, and bus – turned up no results.
Her five children, family and friends have been surprised and worried at her disappearance – a type 1 diabetic, Ms Whitehead did not take her medication with her.
“ We were alerted Monday morning by her boss, in Geelong, when she didn’t turn up for work, he thought it was out of character and had contacted family members who thought she was going away for the weekend and would be back,” SC Grant said.
“ He went out with a family member and checked the house, found it unlocked and her personal items were in the house and the car in the garage. They then contacted us, so we started cold lunchtime Monday.
“There is nothing suspicious at this point but it is very unusual. We have a couple of leads but they are not substantiated, not so much sightings just things we are following up.”
Ms Whitehead hasn’t contacted any friends or relatives and her bank account has not been touched since the Friday when she withdrew money.
Her eldest daughter, Amelia Kaiser, 20, added that her mother had stopped her mail for a week.
“We are hopeful she will walk straight back into open arms,” Amelia said.
“She is a doting mother and the glue that’s holds everyone together but I keep them (brothers and sisters) close together and will get them through it. It’s hard not to take over but I have to be the one to stand up and hold it all.”
The four other children are two younger boys aged 10 and 9 and two older girls 13 and 12.
“They are upset but they have each other,” Amelia said.
“Dad is looking after them and staying strong and he is concerned like everyone else.
To mum – you don’t have to come home. Just contact the police to say that you are okay. We love you and miss you. There are so many people, including the community, that care about you.”
Amelia added that the support of the community has been overwhelming and the local police amazing.
“ We’ve had food offered to us, had café owners offer to come in and grab free sandwich, free coffees when we want and even Telstra free calls and wiped my bill,” Amelia said.
“The media have been amazing just to get my message out – the first week is the most crucial to get the media out and if anyone has seen her its fresh in their mind, so if anyone has helped her or even seen her, just call the police, let us know.
“I think every avenue has been exhausted and unfortunately not much back but we are not going to give up.
“I have been wracking my brains for the last 4 weeks, every conversation we had, trying to find a clue or some sign, she may have dropped a hint. She is always level headed, very switched on, very doting, caring of our needs, very selfless – as all mothers really are.
“I would like to say a big thankyou to the Bannockburn police who have been coming in even on their days off and staying longer hours or starting earlier, they have just been amazing.”

Hopes fade for missing mum

HOPES are fading in the search for Bannockburn mother-of-five Lorrin Whitehead, more than two weeks after she went missing.

Police have received no new information on Ms Whitehead's disappearance, despite the Bannockburn community rallying to help find her.

It has left the family no closer to discovering what has happened to the 43-year-old.

"Every day is hard," Lorrin's mother Joan Whitehead said. "It's like a bad dream you can't wake up from."

Ms Whitehead disappeared without a trace on Friday, February 8, without her car, purse, phone or diabetes medication.

She was last seen near an ATM in Bannockburn.

It is understood Ms Whitehead also suspended her mail delivery for a week before she disappeared.

Police search and rescue failed to find any trace of Ms Whitehead in the days after her disappearance and have been forced to adopt a "wait and see" approach in the hope new details about her might surface.

Ms Whitehead's parents flew in from the Gold Coast to offer their support in the search.

But with no leads forthcoming, they have returned home to continue the agonising wait for any news on their daughter.

"There is really nothing we can do any more just wait until something comes up," Mrs Whitehead said.

Anyone with any information should contact 000.

Six years are gone but Lorrin's family still wait for 'Bread Sunday'

By Cate Altamura - The Age

September 8, 2019 — 12.00am

It’s been six years since Lorrin Jane Whitehead went missing and her family wants answers.

Whitehead was last seen on February 8, 2013 in Bannockburn, Victoria, at the Woolworths Supermarket complex at 4.45pm. She bought a bottle of water, a Hallmark card and black pen and withdrew $150 at the Bendigo Bank's ATM.

From there, the mystery begins.

The week leading up to Whitehead’s disappearance was like any other, according to her eldest daughter Amelia Grozdanovski.

“I babysat on Wednesday night while my mum went to night school," she recalls. "Then on Friday [the day Whitehead disappeared], she called me and said that she was 'sorry' but then stopped and said that she was still available to do coffee on Sunday.

"She was also thinking about going into Melbourne to go to her first NRL game as she had won two tickets."

Just prior to her disappearance Whitehead was seen purchasing the card on CCTV footage. As there were over 150 Hallmark cards to choose from, police have not been unable to determine which card Whitehead purchased.

“On the Wednesday after [mum] went missing, there was an unstamped card that showed up in my stepdad's mailbox with a handwritten address on the front to the 'Kaiser Kids'," says Grozdanovski, who was called Kaiser before she married.

"The card was Hallmark but blank - no handwriting on the inside. The card was a photo of a smiley face in the sand with the message Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.

“The police said the handwriting could have been mum's, but only in severe duress or stress - we can’t rule it out 100 per cent. My mother was a writer, [so] I can’t imagine her sending a blank card."

Detective Sergeant Brian Malloch of the Moorabool criminal investigation unit in Geelong, who has been working on the case for the past six years, believes the card was sent by Whitehead.

“There was a card we believe was sent by the missing person,” Malloch says. “There have been no recent updates."

Whitehead’s five children - 25-year-old Grozdanovski and her siblings Megan, Rachel, Arnold and Quade - were young at the time of her disappearance and simply want answers.

Grozdanovski has worked tirelessly in the search for her mother and set up a Facebook page to raise awareness of the case. The page currently has over 6000 likes.

Grozdanovski constantly reaches out to police and admits she is frustrated by the lack of answers: “To be honest the police have been fairly stand-offish with us as a family. Not once have we been offered counselling or support or legal advice.

"I feel the entire system is poor really. The police officers are very overworked and unable to do their jobs right because of it. I feel many things may have not been looked into as thoroughly as they could have or even looked into at all."

It's easy to understand this frustration as no real leads have surfaced to date. Prior to her disappearance, Whitehead had gone through a divorce and although she was sad, Grozdanovski says she was accepting: “She just wanted what was best for everybody and wanted everyone to be happy. Mum had been married to Teo [Kaiser] for 13 years and of course she was sad and mad at the way it ended, but she just wanted to move forward [for] the kids and her life,” she says.

When asked if her mother showed any signs of depression, Grozdanovski, now a trained nurse, said her mother had been showing what she now considers to be signs of improvement.

“Mum had gone through a really hard five years [after her divorce] and spoke about a brand new attitude, a new start.

"She planned for travel and new experiences, she was studying and learning. From my experience with mental health, a depressed person doesn't do that.”

Lorrin's parents, Wayne and Joan Whitehead, just want their little girl home. "We just wish we had answers - at least to know that she is safe," they say.

To preserve her sanity, Grozdanovski tries not to speculate on what may have happened to her mother. “I have no theories. Theories are only guesses and not based on facts. I just have to go off the facts [otherwise] I would go crazy! I would start looking under every bush in Australia. Knocking on every door, scouring every street. I don't know what to think or feel anymore.

“I feel guilt that I don't do more to find her. I feel afraid that she is going through something horrific whilst I’m tucked up in bed writing you this email. I am afraid that I’ll never see her again.

"I feel hurt and confused that someone might have hurt her or that she might have hurt herself. I play years of conversations in my head and wonder if I missed something – it’s exhausting. Overall I try not to feel because it hurts too much - it's just easier to be semi-numb."

Grozdanovski has her memories, though. “Mum is a funny, witty, bubbly personality who loved liquorice allsorts and belting out Michael Buble into a large wooden spoon. She always put herself last - messy short hair, bright apple cheeks, big cheesy smile. She always had this habit of speaking with her eyes closed and hands on hips."

Whitehead was not a great cook, her children recall, which resulted in a Sunday tradition for the family. “We always had 'bread Sundays' which meant we made our own bread dough into whatever shape we wanted and had it for dinner each Sunday night,” Grozdanovski says.

Whitehead’s children are still hoping for another “Bread Sunday”.

“The public’s help is essential!" Grozdanovski says. "Just thinking back to the time (of her disappearance) and helping us piece a timeline together. Conversations they may have had with mum in the months leading up to her disappearance are really important.”

If you have information about a missing person, ring Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.